Sign board or poster holder

ABSTRACT

A sign board or poster holder which is preferably formed of a foldable material, such as corrugated paper board, fabricated board, foldable plastic material, or paper mache, is provided with three upper longitudinal score lines, the central score line of which passes through the apices of the acute angles of spaced cut-out parallelograms. Spaced vertical score lines are also provided which pass through the apices of the obtuse angles of the parallelograms and extend upwardly to the top edge of the foldable material. Acute angle cut outs are arranged between the upper and lower top score lines and short slits are cut from the bottom of the board or holder upwardly in alignment with the vertical score lines and lower longitudinal score lines are formed so that bottom flanges of the foldable material may be bent outwardly to support the sign board or poster holder. The foldable material may be bent downwardly successively on the upper score lines to provide a reinforcement for the upper portion of the panels. The sign board or poster holder is then bent on the vertical score lines. This causes the acute angles of each of the parallelograms to engage each other to forn two straight lines and the acute angles at the ends of the foldable material between the upper and lower score lines to form a third straight line. Pressure sensitive adhesive tape may be applied to the opposite ends of the panels to form the final board or holder and to lock the parts together. Pressure sensitive adhesive tape may also be applied to the outwardly extending bottom flanges to affix and support the sign board or poster holder.

United States Patent [191 Shepherd V SIGN BOARD OR'POSTER HOLDER [76] Inventor: John B. Shepherd, 560 Lake Forest Dr., Bay Village, Ohio 44140 [22] Filed: July 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 276,125

Erickson 40/ 124.1

Patterson 40/126 A Primary ExaminerRobert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-Wenceslao J Contreras Att0rney-John Mahoney [57] ABSTRACT A sign board or poster holder which is preferably formed of a foldable material, such as corrugated paper board, fabricated board, foldable plastic material, or paper mache, is provided with three upper lon- 51 Dec. 4, 1973 gitudinal score lines, the central score line of which passes through the apices of the acute angles of spaced cut-out parallelograms. Spaced vertical score lines are also provided which pass through the apices of the obtuse angles of the parallelograms and extend upwardly to the top edge of the foldable material. Acute angle cut outs are arranged between the upper and lower top score lines and short slits are cut from the bottom of the board or holder upwardly in alignment with the vertical score lines and lower longitudinal score lines are formed so that bottom flanges of the foldable material may be bent outwardly to support the sign board or poster holder. The foldable material may be bent downwardly successively on the upper score lines to provide a reinforcement for the upper portion of the panels. The sign board or poster holder is then bent on the vertical score lines. This causes the acute angles of each of the parallelograms to engage each other to fom two straight lines and the acute angles at the ends of the foldable material between the upper and lower score lines to form a third straight line. Pressure sensitive adhesive tape may be applied to the opposite ends of the panels to form the final board or holder and to lock the parts together. Pressure sensitive adhesive tape may also be applied to the outwardly extending bottom flanges to afiix and support the sign board or poster holder.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SIGN BOARD OR POSTER HOLDER The present invention relates to a sign board or poster holder and more particularly to a sign board or posting holder which is formed of an inexpensive material having a reinforced upper portion and to the method of fabricating it.

In sign boards and poster holders used for retail advertising and particularly for current events such as rodeos, a carnival, circus, church or sporting events, or to boost a candidate for public office, it is desirable to provide a holder that is inexpensive, easily fabricated, and which has sufficient strength to be used on a movable support, such as on the roof of a passenger car or a taxicab. In accordance with my invention, a fabric is provided that is formed of a foldable material, such as cardboard having an inner corrugated layer and a pair of outer skins which may be secured by suitable means, such as the blades of a press or by rolls having protruding prongs, spikes, or discs arranged in spaced relation, to provide a plurality of panels, each of which has a vertical score line at one or both ends thereof. In addition, each of the panels has a horizontal score line at a spaced distance from the bottom portion which have cuts therein in alignment with the vertical score lines which enables the bottom portions of the panels to be flanged outwardly to form a support for the sign holder.

My improved sign holder or poster board also has a reinforced upper portion in which respect it consistutes an improvement of my copending application Ser. No. 231,564 filed in the United States Patent Office on Mar. 3, 1972, now abandoned.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a foldable material, such as corrugated card board having angular and diamond-shaped cut-outs which may be utilized in preparing my improved sign board or poster holder;

FIG. 2 is a detail view of an enlarged portion of the card board shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail view showing a step in forming the upper reinforcement in my improved sign card or holder;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are detail views showing additional steps in forming the upper reinforcement and which also shows the lower flange on one of the panels;

FIG. 6 is an upper plan view of the assembled sign board or poster holder, showing means for applying it to a stationary or movable support; and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on a plane passing through the line 7-7 of FIG. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

As illustrated in the drawings, a wide strip of an inexpensive foldable material, such as a card board having an inner corrugated portion and inner and outer skins is provided which is divided into side panels 1, 2 and 3 by a suitable scoring device, such as a press having blades for forming score lines on the vertical wall or by a disc or rollers having spaced protruding prongs, studs, or spikes thereon as indicated by the lines 4 and 5. To

provide flanges that may be bent outwardly from the panels at the bottom of the sign or holder, longitudinal score lines 6 7 and 8 are also provided. For this purpose, vertical score lines 6 and 7 may terminate in cuts 9 and 10.

One of the principal features of the present invention, however, is to provide means for reinforcing the upper portion of the panel and this is particularly true when the sign holder is to be applied to the top of an automobile or a taxicab that may be driven at a com paratively high speed, such as approximately 60 to miles per hour. For this purpose, a novel reinforcement is provided which is preferably formed integral with the longitudinal strip.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 1 to 5, the upper portions of panels 1, 2 and 3 are provided with score lines 11, 12 and 13 and the opposite ends of score line 12 terminate in cut-out acute angles 15 and 16, respectively, or approximately 70 and along score line 12 between score lines 11 and 13 are a pair of cut-outs in the form of parallelograms which facilitate the bending of the board at the score lines 4 and 5 and in locking the upper parts of the reinforced sign holder together. Each of the cut-out parallelograms have upper and lower obtuse angles 17 and 20 of approximately As shown, short score lines extend above the parallelograms in alignment with score lines 4 and 5 as indicated by the lines 4a and 5a, respectively.

To provide the upper reinforcement, a narrow strip 21 on the card board is first bent downwardly on the score lines 13 to partially cover the cut-out acute angles l5 and 16, one of which is shown in detail in FIG. 3. The upper portion of the panel is then bent successively on score lines 12 and 11 to form a downwardly and inwardly inclined portion 22 and a downwardly and outwardly inclined portion 23 at which time horizontal strip 21 extends upwardly and engages the inner portion of the panels as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 of the sign board or posting holder and maintains it intact against weather forces, such as wind.

In preparing the sign board or posting holder, the corrugated card board is bent on the score lines 4 and 4a and the score lines 5 and 5a which causes the acute angles in the parallelograms to engage each other forming straight corner lines 26 and 27 and the acute angles 15 and 16 to engage each other to form a straight line 28 at which time the outer portions of panels 1 and 3 are secured together by pressure sensitive tape 29 which may be applied at the corners of the holder over a sufficient area to lock the parts together.

The lower flanges 30, 31 and 32 of the sign holder may be held in place by strips of a pressure sensitive adhesive tape 33, 34 and 35, overlying the outwardly extending lower flanges. To provide a stronger support, the pressure sensitive tape may extend far enough to overlie the pressure sensitive strip on the adjacent side. I have found it desirable, however, to leave the comers of the holder or poster free from the pressure sensitive adhesive tape to permit weather elements, such as rain or melting snow falling within the sign holder or poster to flow therefrom.

Signs may be printed directly upon the panel by the silk screen process, or they may be applied by hand painting or by letters having and adhesive thereon. Each of the panels may also be coated with the advertisement of a particular event. Such advertisements may be applied to the sides of the holder by an adhesive or by clips, tacks, or other fastening devices which if desired may be removed so that a new advertisement may be later applied to the holder.

My improved holder or poster may be of any desired size. Generally there is some objections in applying comparatively large sizes on privately owned cars.

When applied to a taxicab, the holder may be approximately 22 inches high and the lower flange on each panel may extend outwardly a distance of approximately one-half of an inch to 2 inches. When the sign board or posting holder is formed of a paper product, such as corrugated card board, it may be desirable to coat the board or poster with a water insoluble salt or paint.

What is claimed is:

1. A sign board or poaster holder including a sheet of foldable material including a plurality of side panels, each of which has an outwardly extending lower flange, a plurality of spaced score lines along the upper portion of the foldable material including a central score line having spaced out out parallelograms defining acute and obtuse angles and said central score line also having acute longitudinal cut-out angles at its opposite ends, said foldable material having vertical score lines which extend through the obtuse angles of the parallelograms and divides the sheet of foldable material into panels of substantially equal width and in which the two acute angles of each of the parallelograms are forced together during the folding of the panel along the vertical score lines to form two straight lines and the longitudinal acute cut-out angles at the opposite ends of the central score lines provide another substantially straight line to form an angularly-shaped reinforcement for the inner wall of the postal holder and in which said straight lines aid in holding the parts together when a pressure sensitive tape is applied to the free ends of the poster holder.

2. In the method of preparing sign boards or poster holders, the steps which comprise applying means to form three spaced horizontal score lines on the upper portion of a foldable sheet material, cutting spaced parallelograms having upper and lower obtuse angles and oppositely disposed aligned acute angles between the first and third score lines intermediate the ends of the foldable sheet and acute cut-out angles at the opposite ends between the first and third score lines in horizontal alignment with the acute angles of eachof the parallelograms, applying means to form spaced vertical score lines on the foldable sheet above and below the parallelograms which extend respectively through the apices of the obtuse angles of each of the parallelograms, successively bending the foldable sheer downwardly on the horizontal score lines to form the upper portion of the sign board or poster holder and then bending the end portions of the foldable sheet together on the vertical score lines and securing them together.

3. In the method of preparing a sign board or poster holder as defined in claim 2 which includes the steps of cutting the foldable sheet a short distance upwardly at the bottom of each panel in alignment with the vertical score lines, applying means to form longitudinal score lines between the cuts on the outer side of the panel and then bending the foldable sheet upwardly to form a support for the sign board or poster holder.

4. The method as defined in claim 2 in which pressure sensitive tape is applied to the outwardly extending flanges of each panel to hold it upon a support.

5. The method of preparting sign boards or postal holder as defined in claim 1 in which the bending of the foldable sheet on the vertical score lines causes the acutr angles of each of the parallelograms to engage each other to form upper straight lines at two of the corners of the sign board or poster holder and the cutout angles at the opposite ends of the foldable sheet to engage each other at the third corner to form a third straight upper line and to cause the angles to lock the panels together when a pressure sensitive tape is applied to the free end edges of the foldable material.

6. The method as defined in claim 2 in which the foldable material is corrugated paper board. 

1. A sign board or poaster holder including a sheet of foldable material including a plurality of side panels, each of which has an outwardly extending lower flange, a plurality of spaced score lines along the upper portion of the foldable material including a central score line having spaced cut out parallelograms defining acute and obtuse angles and said central score line also having acute longitudinal cut-out angles at its opposite ends, said foldable material having vertical score lines which extend through the obtuse angles of the parallelograms and divides the sheet of foldable material into panels of substantially equal width and in which the two acute angles of each of the parallelograms are forced together during the folding of the panel along the vertical score lines to form two straight lines and the longitudinal acute cut-out angles at the opposite ends of the central score lines provide another substantially straight line to form an angularly-shaped reinforcement for the inner wall of the postal holder and in which said straight lines aid in holding the parts together when a pressure sensitive tape is applied to the free ends of the poster holder.
 2. In the method of preparing sign boards or poster holders, the steps which comprise applying means to form three spaced horizontal score lines on the upper portion of a foldable sheet material, cutting spaced parallelograms having upper and lower obtuse angles and oppositely disposed aligned acute angles between the first and third score lines intermediate the ends of the foldable sheet and acute cut-out angles at the opposite ends between the first and third score lines in horizontal alignment with the acute angles of each of the parallelograms, applying means to form spaced vertical score lines on the foldable sheet above and below the parallelograms which extend respectively through the apices of the obtuse angles of each of the parallelograms, successively bending the foldable sheer downwardly on the horizontal score lines to form the upper portion of the sign board or poster holder and then bending the end portions of the foldable sheet together on the vertical score lines and securing them together.
 3. In the method of preparing a sign board or poster holder as defined in claim 2 which includes the steps of cutting the foldable sheet a short distance upwardly at the bottom of each panel in alignment with the vertical score lines, applying means to form longitudinal score lines between the cuts on the outer side of the panel and then bending the foldable sheet upwardly to form a support for the sign board or poster holder.
 4. The methOd as defined in claim 2 in which pressure sensitive tape is applied to the outwardly extending flanges of each panel to hold it upon a support.
 5. The method of preparting sign boards or postal holder as defined in claim 1 in which the bending of the foldable sheet on the vertical score lines causes the acutr angles of each of the parallelograms to engage each other to form upper straight lines at two of the corners of the sign board or poster holder and the cut-out angles at the opposite ends of the foldable sheet to engage each other at the third corner to form a third straight upper line and to cause the angles to lock the panels together when a pressure sensitive tape is applied to the free end edges of the foldable material.
 6. The method as defined in claim 2 in which the foldable material is corrugated paper board. 